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15/12/2025
Spencer Jones
[FYI request #32595 email]
Tēnā koe Spencer
OIA: 1354235 - Te Huruhi Primary School’s Te Reo Māori curriculum and related practices
Thank you for your email of 17 October 2025 to the Ministry of Education (the Ministry) that was
partially transferred to Te Huruhu Primary School on 30 October 2025. The remainder of your
request for the following information sits with the Ministry:
3. Compliance with the Education and Training Act 2020 (ETA), particularly Sections 58
and 59, including:
a) Any audits, reviews, or assessments conducted by the Ministry on Te Huruhi
Primary School’s adherence to ETA requirements for optional religious or spiritual
instruction, informed parental consent (opt-in processes), and separation from the
standard curriculum.
c) Records of complaints or inquiries received by the Ministry about Te Huruhi Primary
School’s curriculum, including those related to religious neutrality, consent, or the
New Zealand Bil of Rights Act 1990 (Sections 13 and 14).
4. Ministry correspondence and involvement:
a)
Al communications between the Ministry of Education and Te Huruhi Primary
School (including the Principal, Board of Trustees, or staff) from 1 January 2025 to
the present, regarding the Te Reo Māori curriculum, Te Ao Māori integration,
religious/spiritual elements, parental inquiries, or compliance issues. This includes
any involvement or advice from Ministry officials, such as Clinton Rowe.
b) Any internal Ministry memos, emails, reports, or notes related to the above topics
for Te Huruhi Primary School.
5. Broader policy and guidance:
a) Ministry guidelines or frameworks provided to state primary schools on integrating
Te Reo Māori and Te Ao Māori while ensuring secular education and compliance
with ETA Sections 58-59, the New Zealand Bil of Rights Act 1990, and Article 14 of
the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Auckland Office, Level 3, 12-18 Normanby Road, Mt Eden, Auckland 1024
Private Bag 92644, Symonds Street, Auckland 1149 Phone: +64 9 632 9400
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b) Any data or reports on national trends in parental complaints about spiritual
elements in school curricula, including how such complaints are resolved.
Your request has been considered under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act).
In response to
part three a of your request, while the Ministry provides support to schools for
legislative and regulatory adherence to the Education Training Act (ETA 2020) we do not conduct
audits, reviews or assessments for this aspect of the ETA 2020. This part of your request is
therefore refused under section 18(e) of the Act as the requested information does not exist.
In response to
part three c, four a and b of your request, the Ministry has identified one complaint
and located 19 emails and their associated threads that fall within the scope of these parts of your
request. I am withholding these documents and their titles in full under the following sections of the
Act:
• 9(2)(a), to protect the privacy of natural persons.
• 9(2)(ba)(i), to protect information supplied under an obligation of confidence, where
disclosure would be likely to prejudice the supply of similar information, or information from
the same source, and it is in the public interest that such information should continue to be
supplied.
In order to provide you with the information you seek we can advise the documents in scope of
your request relate to a complaint received regarding the te ao Māori teachings of spirituality within
the curriculum being delivered at Te Huruhi Primary School and:
• Internal Ministry emails relating to investigating the complaint
• Communications with the school with Ministry advice on how to proceed
• Administrative emails
• Correspondence with the complainant
As required under section 9(1) of the Act, I have considered the public interest in releasing the
information withheld. I do not consider that the public interest considerations favouring the release
of this information are sufficient to outweigh the need to withhold it at this time.
In response to part
five a of your request, the Ministry does not have any guidelines or frameworks
that address Te Reo Māori and Te Ao Māori in relation to maintaining secular education. This part
of your request is therefore refused under section 18(e) of the Act as the requested information
does not exist.
In response to part
five b of your request the Ministry does not collect or report on national trends
in parental complaints about spiritual elements in school curricula, this part of your request is
therefore refused under section 18(g) of the Act as the information is not held by the Ministry and I
have no reason to believe it held by another agency subject to the Act.
Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to review my decision
OIA: 1354235
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on your request, in accordance with section 28 of the Act. You can do this by writing to
[email address] or to Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.
Nāku, nā
Jason Swann
Director of Education, Tamaki Makaurau, Central and East
Te Mahau | Te Tai Raro (North)
OIA: 1354235
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